these probative elements does not allow it to determine whether it refers specifically to the facts of
this case or whether it also cover the facts of the case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison v. Peru.
C.2.1) The context at the time of the events
315. In the instant case, the Court has found it proved that the State’s actions included a pattern
of detentions that “consisted, first, in the violent arrest of the victim, accompanied by the search of
the victim’s home using the same violent methods.” The detainee “was blindfolded or his face was
totally covered” (supra para. 65). The CVR reported that “[o]nce the person had been deprived of
liberty, he was taken to a place of confinement, which might or might not be a legal detention
center. […] During the transfer, the detainee was subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.” 430
316. Furthermore, the Court recalls that, during the armed conflict, numerous acts of rape were
committed against Peruvian women by perpetrators from both the State and the subversive groups
and, in the case of the State, “the sexual abuse was a generalized practice that was surreptitiously
tolerated, but in some cases openly permitted by the immediate superiors” (supra para. 68). The
CVR asserted that “the testimony provided […] includes not only accounts of rape. It also refers to
different forms of sexual violence, such as sexual abuse, sexual blackmail, sexual harassment or
inappropriate touching.” However, the CVR recognized that “cases in which a woman [was]
subjected to any of these practices are not denounced” and that “the domestic criminal laws did not
assist a woman who was a victim of sexual violence to denounce these acts, due to the
cumbersome procedures that the complaint entailed, as well as the humiliation and shame suffered
by the victim.” 431
317. According to the CVR, sexual violence “occurred from the moment of the arrest, as well as
during the transfer between the different State entities.” In this regard, it indicated that the women
who were detained “were subjected to inappropriate touching by all those who came near her,” and
“sexual abuse, inappropriate touching, and threats of rape” were common. In response to the
numerous testimonies received, the CVR made a “special mention of the Lima premises of the
National Counter-terrorism Directorate (DINCOTE), which has been identified […] as a place in
which sexual violence occurred repeatedly.” According to the testimonies, “[t]he ill-treatment began
at the time of the arrest, during which the perpetrators identified themselves as members of the
DINCOTE [… and] continued during the transfer to that entity.” In addition, the CVR reported that
the sexual violence occurred “also in the DINCOTE premises on the beach and at night.” 432
318. Regarding the State’s argument that this case does not form part of the pattern described,
because “it occurred in the context of the operations headed by the GEIN,” the Court notes that the
State did not present any evidence to prove that the operations carried out by the GEIN were
different from the operations carried out by the DINCOTE in general. The GEIN was a group
attached to the DINCOTE, and the above-mentioned conclusions of the CVR do not make a
distinction between the different DINCOTE groups. Furthermore, the failure of other women
detained in Operation Moyano or in other cases decided by the Inter-American Court to report
sexual abuse is not evidence of what happened at the time of J.’s arrest and, consequently, does
not disprove the findings and conclusions of the CVR, or their applicability to this specific case.
319. In addition, the Court notes that, according to the CVR, at the time of the facts, “the
prosecutors called on by law to determine the existence of abuse and report this to the judiciary
430
Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, volume VI, chapter 1.4, pp. 240 and 241.
431
Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, volume VI, chapter 1.5, pp. 279 and 306.
432
Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, volume VI, chapter 1.4, p. 242. and chapter 1.5, pp. 315, 322, 324
and 348.
92
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